‘Punish river offenders’

We don't need industries that don't comply with environ-mental guideline. The rivers are on the verge of elimination due to interest of some people. River offenders must be brought to book to set example so that none can even think of harming the waterbodies.

— Muzibor Rahman Howlader, former chairman of NRCC

River activists yesterday at an event demanded that National River Conservation Commission (NRCC) is given the executive power to protect country's rivers, which are disappearing fast due to grabbing, wrong demarcations and industrial pollution.

They said this at a programme organised on the occasion of International Day of Action for Rivers by Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bapa) at Bosila in the capital. Around 30 organisations took part in the event.

Muzibor Rahman Howlader, former chairman of NRCC, said only 2,800 kilometres of river route exist out of 35,000 kilometres.

"NRCC must be empowered with executive power to save rivers. There are laws regarding the protection of the rivers but there are also hurdles in executing those laws. The projects to develop rivers are not also properly implemented," he alleged.

He said the country needs industrialisation for development, but rivers should not be destroyed.

"We don't need industries that don't comply with environmental guideline. The rivers are on the verge of elimination due to interest of some people. River offenders must be brought to book to set example so that none can even think of harming the waterbodies," he said.

 Presiding over the meeting, Sharif Jamil, general secretary of Bapa, said conservation of rivers are the precondition for survival of a country.

"Wrong demarcations by the district administrations allowed the river grabbers to encroach those legally. Many residential areas were developed encroaching the Buriganga, Balu, Shitalakhya and Turag rivers," he said.

Mihir Biswas, coordinator of Save the Buriganga River Campaign; Alamgir Kabir, chief coordinator of Green Voice; Ibnul Sayed Rana, chairman of Nirapad Development Foundation; Sohaj Mohajan, chief executive of Clean River, Bangladesh, were present at the programme, among others.